Luxury Packaging Glassification is here:
ensure seals can stand up to it Consumer demand is driving growth in the use of glass packaging across several sectors. But glass is not without its drawbacks, especially when it comes to creating a hermetic seal to contain oil or fat-based products. Peter Tindale, European sales director of Selig, explores the latest technology for ensuring quality, security and a long shelf-life.
P
eople shop with their senses, , and glass packaging appeals to all five. Sensory stimulation comes from the feel of a smooth bottle in the hands, the soothing chime created when a fingernail is pinged on the side, the shape and transparency that excites the eyes, the neutral smell and the knowledge that the contents’ flavour is pure and untainted by its container material. Little wonder shoppers of luxury products are increasingly calling for glass packaging.
So much so that in 2021 more than 23 million tonnes of glass packaging, equivalent to some 83 billion bottles and jars, was produced for global markets, according to data from the European Container Glass Federation. Those figures represent growth of 18.6% since 2012, and the rising use of glass packaging looks unlikely to stop any time soon.
Consider also that shoppers’ decisions are increasingly driven by environmental concerns and that glass is a permanent material that can be endlessly recycled with no loss in quality, and you can see why the trend for this type of packaging is so popular it has been given the name: glassification.
What this phenomenon could look like in compound annual growth is a rate of 3.9% for the global glass packaging market over the next decade, according to a recent forecast. Among the areas in which this growth is expected to be seen played out are the alcoholic and non- alcoholic beverage, food, pharmaceutical and personal care product sectors.
While glass may appeal to consumers and does not affect flavours or product quality and is recyclable, there are potentially challenging factors to consider when packaging certain products in the material. Creating a hermetic seal on glass packaging for some beauty, cosmetics and luxury spices products, for example, is among them. Such seals, most commonly achieved with induction heat sealing, are essential to extend shelf life while protecting against tampering and leaks, especially during transit. However, when sealing the glass containing oil, wax- or cream- based products, there is a risk of the product contaminating the neck of the container. Similarly, luxury spice brands wishing to use glass packaging will find induction liners do not work because products such as pepper, nutmeg and cloves contain volatile compound oils. These
attack the edges between the glass and liner, acting as a solvent and eating away at the seal. Other approaches could be adopted, such as using shrink seals, but these slow down the filling process and could impact productivity. Another alternative is a steam-applied metal cap, but these can be expensive, time-consuming and, at times, ineffective.
In response to the challenges, Selig developed GlassFuze, a cost-effective heat-sealing technique that is resistant to oil penetration and ensures increased adhesion to glass while being easy to open. Central to this solution is the lining material, which is aluminium foil with a GlassFuze heat seal polymer coating that is laminated with an application-dependent backing. This lining material allows the seal to be created using conventional induction heating.
Independent research performed to discover the best way to seal glass jars identified Selig’s GlassFuze as the most effective method . The testing, commissioned by a peanut butter producer following customer complaints of product spoilage, trialled five sealing methods on glass jars using a four-minute -300 mBar pressure test on a laboratory Pack-Vac leak detector. Among the sealing techniques put to the test were plastic screw caps with induction seal liners, metal screw caps with flowed-in seals and metal twist caps with flowed-in seals. The screw caps were shown to protect against leakages better than the twist caps, but only Selig’s induction heat seal liner with GlassFuze proved to provide consistent, secure sealing with no leakage. The trend for the glassification of packaging is showing no signs of slowing down, and consumer expectations rightly remain high. The brands agile enough to adopt reliable, safe and cost-effective means of sealing glass containers will likely be those that will thrive in this landscape. At least now there is the technology available to ensure that can be a reality.
Xwww.sealigsealing.com
30
November 2022
www.convertermag.com
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